Hey Lex, time for a catch up?

Ahh, where do I start!  It has been a busy season even though its winter..

Been on any trips?

Yeah!  I went to France in September and South Africa in November.  France was amazing as always; however the surf was rubbish, I think I got maybe 5 days of average to poor surf out of the two weeks!  I went wakeboarding at TNG cable near Toulouse though which was fun.  I had never been to SA before so it was a great experience.  I travelled from Durban to Cape Town, then up the Garden Route to Jeffreys Bay where I got to go round the Billabong Head Office.  I managed to surf there but it was only waist high, so fun but not proper J-Bay.  I did do the best backside turn of my life there though! Ha!

Shredding France!

Have you been in the freezing waters here?

Of course!  I’ve been riding a little, its pretty cold now though, there was ice on the edges of the lake last Saturday!  It’s all good until you fall in, then its time to hit the showers!  The aim of the game is to stay dry.

You have been doing some WakeGirlsGo… stuff??

It’s just girly fun.  I thought that because wakeboarding in the UK slows down so much in the winter, why not get the wake girls together and see if we can keep our fitness up in other ways – and having copious amounts of fun while doing it of course!  In October we went down to Croyde for a surfing weekend.  It turned out to be more than we could ever ask for!  We stayed in a beautiful cottage all weekend, had surf lessons, cream teas, nights out at the Thatch, Nalu Bead workshops, Desperados and Photographer Rob Tibbles there to capture it all!  And to top it off, the sun stayed out and the waves cleaned up.  In November the same group of girls headed to Bedford to have a weekend at the Flow House.  Again, so much fun and they were amazing for accommodating us.  We started with riding at WakeMK then headed over for an evening flowrider session, followed by a night out in Bedford.  We spent more time on the flowrider the next day, I think my body took a week to recover!

Flowrider fun!

I hear you were at the Boat Show last week?

Yeah it was girls day there on Friday.  There were two talks by Sarah from Wide-A-Wake and also a Girls Demo in the action pool which I got to ride in; it was pretty nerve racking as there were only four of us – two World Champions, a National Champion and me!  It was good to see the girls get some time to show off their skiiiiiiils.

Showing off the skills at The Boat Show!

Sounds like you’ve been busy! Anything else?

As always  I’ve also been working with a Personal Trainer this winter.  Sharm from Kurup Fit has been pushing me off the water taking me through circuits, which are based around strengthening exercises, muscle building and some intense fitness routines.  We have also been looking at my diet to get more out of what I fuel myself with.  I’ve never had PT before, it’s hard but I’m loving it.

Do you have any trips planned?

You know it! Haha! I am heading to Euro-land in the spring to go surfing for a couple of weeks.  I’m pretty excited about my summer trip though, I’m heading to Alaska to go fishing, hiking, horse riding and hopefully finding a little bit of surfing up there too if I’m lucky.

You are one busy girl!

Ha yeah, but I love it.

It was good to catch up, I’m sure we’ll be hearing from you after your surf trip!

Definitely, I’ll be sure to send you some pics.

Lex · Surfing · Wakeboarding

Two Seasons sponsored wakeboard Lex Balladon had a podium finish at stop 3 of the Ten Feet High tour at the weekend. First of all the rookies were out in force on the flat lake although it had been raining, conditions were great and it was actually quite warm. After the rookies came the ladies! All of the girls were throwing down their inverts and going big! Lex placed 3^rd behind Chloe Goudie who came 2^nd and Sophie Cordery who got the top spot. Great result!

The girls with their goodies!

A world champion freestyle jet-skier was on hand to provide some pretty gnarly interval entertainment before it was time for the guys to take to the water. Gary Stelfox came in first for the pro men with ‘Wee Man’ 2^nd and Damon Bull 3^rd.

A great day was had by all.

Lex · wakeboard · Wakeboarding

It’s a new wakeboard season so we thought we’d catch up with Two Seasons Wakeboarder Lex Balladon to see what she likes and dislikes at the moment…

Killing it on the sliders...

Travel?
Likes: Anywhere hot with a good cable or good waves.  Like Philippines or Bali.
Dislikes: Detroit – that was scary!

Weekends?
Likes: Wakeboarding, seeing friends and family.
Dislikes: Driving ages to competitions with a hangover.

Food?
Likes: Mexican. And a corona to wash it down, with lime.
Dislikes: Yogurt, is it food, is it gone off milk? Who knows! Strongly dislike.

Music?
Likes: Rock, pop, I like a bit of country here and there.. Only when line dancing or travelling in an RV though!
Dislikes: Heavy metal.

And the kickers!

Wakeboarding?
Likes: Landing a new trick, or just having a sick session with friends.
Dislikes: Busy cables and winter riding. Putting on a wet wetsuit!

Trick?
Likes: Any kind of slider.
Dislikes: Toe side kicker spins scare me!

Surfing?
Likes: Catching a good wave – only a surfer knows the feeling!
Dislikes: Getting worked and held under. Getting dropped in on.

Drink?
Likes: Champagne.
Dislikes: Shots, I’m rubbish at taking them!

Life?
Likes: LOVES life. And having fun shredding, yeah!
Dislikes: Rude people. Its just not nice is it.

Shoutouts?
Likes: Two Seasons! Thanks for all my gear
Dislikes: The cold wind that has been blowing over the UK for the past month.

wakeboard · Wakeboarding

Its time for the girls to have some fun!  Chicks Shred Sesh is on at WakeMK this Sunday and then every third Sunday of the month.  If you want to learn how to wakeboard, get involved.  Come down if you can already ride, you want to learn to hit sliders and kickers, or you want to learn inverts! It’s a fun time, girls only and goodies to win!

2011 WakeMK Chicks Sessions (with double ups)

Reckon you could do this?

Sunday 8th May

Sunday 19th June

Sunday 17th July

Sunday 21st August

Sunday 18th September

Sunday 16th October

Each season will be running from 9am – 11am and they are free for members and £20 (including all kit) for non-members.  WakeMK Pro Women Lex Balladon and Chloe Goudie will be on the dock to help out and double up with the riders.  There will also be some guest coaching from Sarah Kingdom and Charlotte Hemming.

Contact www.wakemk.com for more info.

wakeboard · Wakeboarding

Stylin' - thanks to Jon boy for the pics!

After a crazy busy Christmas it was my first opportunity to hit the water, ahhhh thank god!  I think it had been three months since my last sesh - sad times.  On Wednesday I was so excited.  I rolled up to the lake with my friend Sarah Kingdom, it was sunny and it was glassy.  My excitement, nerves and adrenaline all kicked in as it had been so long since I’d last been wakeboarding.  I could not get on the water quick enough!!

Warming up - thanks to Jon boy for the pics!

I was wearing my new Billabong SG5 wetsuit (which rocks my world right now), booties and 3mm gloves so I was ready to go.  I had a brilliant time and wanted to ride more but my forearms were agony from wearing gloves.  I had a great time and my first ride of the year was even better than I imagined it to be!!

See you on the water

(Words by Two Seasons sponsored wakeboarder Lex Balladon)

Lex · Wakeboarding

The London Boat Show will be running from the 7th – 16th January at Excel House.

Billabong's Jonty Green

People from all over will be gathering to check out some serious marine action.  There will be big boats, small boats, wakeboard boats and yachts, and some boats that most could only dream of…
There is an indoor action pool set up to hold different watersports throughout the show.  One of them will be wakeboarding!  There are two floating obstacles set up and the riders will be using a 2.0 system to hit the toys and do water tricks.  The main riders invited are Dan Nott, CK, Lee Debuse and Jonty green with Matt Crowhurst on the mic.

Check out http://www.londonboatshow.com/2011/home.aspx for more information.

(Words by Two Seasons wakeboarder Lex Balladon)

wakeboard · Wakeboarding

Winning his Tranworld award

Billabong have announced that they have re-signed Canadian wakeboarder Raphael Derome for another three years. At just the start of his career he has recently taken the wakeboard world by storm winning various competitions in the past year including Wake The Line in Cologne, Germany and he went on to earn himself the coveted Rail Rider of the Year award at the 2010 Transworld Wakeboarding Wake Awards that took place in Orlando towards the end of last year. See more at http://www.billabong.com/us/blog-post/2066/2010-09-21

Billabong see Derome as an excellent young role model within the sport of wakeboarding and also as an excellent asset to the sport in the future. Here’s to seeing more of him in 2011!

Billabong · wake board · wakeboard · Wakeboarding

Coaches Sarah (left) and Lex!

On Sunday 17th October – it was a beautiful day at WakeMK Cable Park.  It was chilly but the sun was shining and the water was flaaaaaaat.  Perfect for a double-up coaching session.  Myself and Sarah Kingdom were coaching the ladies morning, which ran from 10am – 1pm.  We were getting the girls out the water and warming up, ready to try their new tricks.  The great thing about the morning was that Sarah and I were able to double-up with the girls and coach from on the water.  They feel more confident when hitting a new kicker or slider because someone is there supporting them.  We had some prizes to give out as usual: the Nalu Beads and Wide-A-Wake prize went to Vanessa, she made it all the way round on a kneeboard for the first time even though she took a nasty bump to the head!  The Two Seasons Vouchers went to Jasmine because she has put in so much effort this summer and really improved, she is only 13 but she was macking at the new rainbow rail at MK and nearly getting the whole way along!!  Well done girls!

Sarah, Jasmine, Vanessa and Lex with prizes!

The rest of the day was fun as people were testing out the 2011 kit.  I managed to get on the board I’ll be riding next year, the Pearl, which put a smile on my face.  We had the Slingshot Team down, myself, Sarah, Angelo Couchman, Rich Underwood and Dan Jordan.  We even had a couple of the Slingshot Kiters down, Lewis and Adam Walker.  We also had 5 times World Champion Kitesurfer Aaron Hadlow tearing up the cable.

It was a great day, keep your eyes open for the 2011 Ladies Mornings and Slingshot Demo days!!

(Words by 2S Team Rider Lex Balladon)

Lex · wakeboard · Wakeboarding

Lex and Sharm brave the cold, it looks freezing!

It was the last ladies morning of the season for Box End Park.  It was cold, it was windy, but it was flat and a few brave women came along and showed their commitment to the sport.  Throughout the sessions we have been giving away prizes for the most improved, best stack or best trick etc.

This week the the Two Seasons Gift Vouchers went to Sharm!  Sharm rides at Box End and at WakeMK, she had also just returned from Bulgaria from a week behind boat – lucky lady!  This week, Sharm landed a switch heelside 180 off the kicker!! Well done Sharm!!

(Words written by Two Seasons rider Lex)

cable jam · Competition · Lex · wakeboard · Wakeboarding

Marc Rossiter styling on the quarter pipe at the Projects Wake Park

Billabong sponsor some of the best athletes in the world across a huge range of sports. Their latest catch is Brit Marc Rossiter who you may have seen gracing the July/August 2010 cover of Alliance Wakeboarding UK magazine. It’s been quite a year for the rail rider who also took 2^nd place at the Wakestock Abu Dhabiin March, beating the wakeboarding legend Parks Bonifay. JD Webb eventually won the competition beating Rossiter in the final.

Now regarded as one of the best rail riders in wakeboarding Marc has being travelling the world recently, competing and filming parts for up-coming movies. Sponsorship from Billabong we guess is the icing on the cake at the end of what has been a great contest season. When asked about his new sponsorship Rossiter responded, ”Wakeboarding’s been my passion for years. To be recognized by such a big brand that has so much credibility is an incredible feeling. I’m looking forward to working with everyone and I’m stoked to be part of the program!”

Billabong · Competition · wakeboard · Wakeboarding